In its July issue, Marie Claire magazine featured 10 Things We Won’t Ask You to Do to Cut Back at the Pump. The list, though meant to be humorous, really seems to laugh at the oil crisis as if no fashionable 20-something woman should ever consider making some serious lifestyle changes to do her part to change the world.
The list is, in parts, funny. Suggestions such as filling your car with balloons and floating to work, cutting your engine while descending steep hills, using bald tires to avoid drag, rounding up neighborhood kids to push your car, dumping passengers without stopping, and siphoning… yes, those are funny. Good job there, Marie Claire.
But also on this list? Combining errands. They use the example of dropping off dry cleaning while taking your sister to the hospital to give birth. But this really cuts down on one of the easiest ways we can conserve gas. Combining trips tends to be one of the first things drivers do when gas prices increase, and today, it seems like it’s a way of life.
Another suggestion is walking through a drive-through ATM lane. How about skipping that drive-through lane altogether? Park your car and walk inside the bank, or use the walk-up ATM most banks have. Or maybe you should walk through a drive-up ATM. You have as much right to be there as any motorist.
Finally, Marie Claire really takes a swing at Bicycle City and cyclists everywhere. Their last suggestion of things not to do to save gas? Get a bike. As in, do not get a bike because fashionable 20-something women should not ride bicycles. I cannot figure out why this is on this list. Is it because helmets create the dreaded helmet hair? Because you can’t bike in Manolos? No matter where you live, I say, get a bike and use it! If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that using a bicycle for daily transportation is convenient and safe, by all means, do it! If using a bike for daily errands isn’t going to work out for you, park it during the week and hit the local park on the weekends. Have fun and forget about your hair. You’ll have time to style it later, after the world is out of oil.
